#AskThicke Hashtag Goes Horribly, Predictably Wrong

This week, VH1 made the questionable decision to let Twitter ask Robin Thicke questions via the #AskThicke hashtag. They had not noticed, apparently, that the Internet was abuzz with renewed contempt for Thicke over his new single, ‘Get Her Back’, a pushy attempt at winning back the affection of his estranged wife, actress Paula Patton.

A NY Magazine article put the problem behind Thicke’s tactics perfectly in her op-ed on Thicke and another terrible ex-bf, singer Adam Levine, when she said: “Like the very public marriage proposal, the Very Public Get-Her-Back campaign appears to be the height of romance — he’s laying it all on the line for her! — but is in fact pure manipulation. It goads Patton into a conversation in which she must either acquiesce to his demand or disappoint the public, and makes her an involuntary part of his career for the foreseeable future.” Twitter agrees, and took to the #AskThicke hashtag to express this:

So I guess this means you didn’t know Paula Patton didn’t want it? #AskThicke – @Yohann_Krauss

#AskThicke did anyone ask you about going ahead with this hashtag, or did they just know you want it? – @EverydaySexism

#AskThicke What’s it like being the human personification of a mid life crisis? – @TechnicallyRon

It seems everyone except VH1 and Thicke’s PR team knew this was a bad idea, but VH1 eventually caught up — they pulled the plug on the Q & A sesh about 15 minutes in. Yikes.